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Saints retained Dennis Allen as defensive coordinator.

This was a formality after Allen somewhat stabilized the Saints' nightmarishly bad defense down the stretch. He took over for Rob Ryan in mid-November. Allen has long been regarded as a bright football mind, but bombed out with the Raiders and will be dealing with major talent deficiencies in New Orleans. Feb 2 - 7:09 PM

He's replacing Rob Ryan, who was fired on Monday. Allen failed miserably as the Raiders' head coach from 2012 through part of 2014 before getting canned, but had previously been a sharp defensive mind as the Broncos' defensive coordinator. Before coaching the Broncos' defense, Allen was a defensive assistant for the Saint from 2006-2010. He has a lot of work ahead of him. Mon, Nov 16, 2015 07:42:00 PM

Just a few days ago, Allen was thought to be the favorite for the Bears' defensive coordinator gig. Instead, he takes a background role in New Orleans, where he'll help out DC Rob Ryan. It's a homecoming for Allen, who was a defensive line and secondary coach for the Saints from 2006-10. If Ryan can't get the Saints' No. 31 defense turned around, Allen could replace him. Tue, Jan 20, 2015 08:31:00 AM

Allen interviewed for the Giants defensive-coordinator vacancy earlier this week, but was passed over for Steve Spagnuolo. He's also been linked to the 49ers' DC job. Allen has ties to GM Ryan Pace and served as John Fox's defensive coordinator in 2011 with Denver. He joins ex-49ers DC Vic Fangio as the leading candidates to replace Mel Tucker. Fri, Jan 16, 2015 08:45:00 PM

Depth Charts

Ingram seems poised to play through his toe issue for the second straight game, but mid-week downgrades are always eye-catching. We wouldn't consider the matter settled. Ingram will probably suit up as a low-end RB2 against the Bucs, but owners need to keep checking his status.

The Saints are arguably the league's most opaque team when it comes to injuries, but missing back-to-back practices is always an ominous sign. Thomas needs to get in at least a limited session on Friday to have a realistic shot at suiting up. Thomas will remain in the low-end WR1 mix if he can give it a go against Tampa. His absence would make Brandin Cooks a no-brainer WR1.

Snead has now been held below 40 yards in three straight games, and four of his past five. It's not true from a targets standpoint, but Snead has become a distant third behind Michael Thomas and Brandin Cooks on the production front. His WR3 case has disappeared.

Saints coach Sean Payton said 2015 first-rounder Andrus Peat could be moved to left guard.

The Saints planned to use Peat on the right side -- either at guard or tackle -- this season, but he has struggled at both positions. "He hasn't played very well over on that right side, so we've got to keep looking and pay close attention to it," Payton said. "I know what he can do well, and we've got to find a way to be at a high enough level inside. And I think we can get that done." The offensive line has struggled mightily in the preseason, and the guard spots are a big reason why. The Saints could look to add a veteran like newly-released OG Geoff Schwartz in the next couple days.